Blockbuster Down to Final U.S. Location

The days of aimlessly walking the aisles of your local Blockbuster every Friday night have been over for years in most parts of the United States.

It was the great poet Percy Shelley who once wrote: "And on the pedestal, these words appear: My name is Blockbuster, Video Store of Video Stores; Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!"

It's not just streaming services that have hurt the video rental business, Payne said, attributing the decline in part to how smartphones and social media have changed the way people spend free time.

With the closures, Blockbuster will be down to just one location left open in the entire U.S.: a store in Bend, Oregon. And while a handful of Blockbuster franchises remained open in recent years, there's now only one left.

At the peak of Blockbuster's popularity there were more than 9,000 locations dotting the US. The last two Alaska store leases end in August. But the way people consumed their movies drastically changed in the 21st century. The video rental chain once flourished throughout the country, but eventually filed for bankruptcy after streaming took hold of the American consumer.

Border Entertainment used to own Blockbuster stores in Texas, too, but those have also closed.

The Associated Pressreports that two Alaska locations in Anchorage and Fairbanks will close for business on Sunday, then begin selling their remaining stock on Tuesday. Pledging to donate the items to a worthy cause, Oliver zeroed in on two of the last remaining Blockbusters, located in Alaska, promising that if one of them contacted the show, they could display the memorabilia in their store.

He thanked customers in the Facebook postannouncing the stores" closure: "Thank you for sticking by us throughout all these years.

The statement says both Vey and Daymude have been with the company since 1991.

"Alaska had always been - I always thought they'd outlast us", she said. I'll even cover your late fees if you come with me. "I can't tell you how much it means to us".